According to Wikipeda- “The Seven Storey Mountain is a autobiography that reflects on the life of Thomas Merton and his quest for his faith in God leading to his conversion to Roman Catholicism at age 23. Subsequently he left behind a promising literary career and resigned as a teacher of English literature at St. Bonaventure College in Olean, N.Y, and entered The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in rural Kentucky on December 10, 1941, a moment which he described in the book as, “..So Brother Matthew locked the gate behind me, and I was enclosed in the four walls of my new freedom.”. Later, Dom Frederic Dunne, the abbot at the abbey, who had received him as novice, suggested that Merton write out his life story, which he reluctantly began, but once he did, it started “pouring out”. Soon he was filling up in his journals, the work which led to the TIME later ascribed for having, “…redefined the image of monasticism and made the concept of saintliness accessible to moderns”

Merton and Nouwen are two of the great Catholic spiritual writers of the 20th century. Their journeys and the way they share them with us as fellow wanders is different in many ways but they both come to the same place.

For me their shared message is that we are the beloved of a God who loves us unconditionally. When we can get to a place of solitude we will hear the voice God and if we open our eyes we will become aware that our God is a living God and is with us everyday.